Vietnam – Flying into Da Nang

Flying into Da Nang it’s cloudy. But then, briefly, a break in the clouds and a glimpse of the situation on the ground. Water. Everywhere. All the fields completely flooded, broken by traces of roads.

I’ve been here before. A bustling port city which thrives on trade, agriculture and tourism. All on pause for the moment but it can be amazing how resilient people can be. Let’s see.

I’m with a rapid assessment and response team. We also have teams going to five other provinces nearby. We’ll get some initial relief supplies going to the worst affected areas and really try to understand the consequences of the storm for children and families.

We land and it’s raining heavily. Leaving the airport we see that this new rain is flooding the streets but clearly people are starting to try to get on with their lives. As usual in Vietnam, mopeds are everywhere. It’s quite tricky to get around with over a foot of water on the roads. There is debris on the streets. Lots of damage – advertising boards, uprooted trees, minor debris. However, we’re in the city. The water will drain away quicker in the wind.

We get some help from a friendly hotel owner who is letting us establish a temporary base in his building. I ask him what it was like when the storm came through two days ago. He said, “We’re used to it here – we get a typhoon every year. But we can’t remember the last time a typhoon brought so much rain. Most of the city is OK but they’re really struggling inland. People are poorer there and with crops and homes destroyed they will find it hard to recover.”

News comes in on supplies. We should have 400 household kits later today, with more to folllow. Kits have a water container, 2 blankets, a large mosquito net, a kettle, 2 cooking pots, a bucket and a few other utensils for some of the households that lost all their possession. We’ll prioritize pregnant mothers, those with young children and families that have lost their breadwinner.

We’ll need to supplement this with ways to help families whose houses are wrecked. With so much water lying around we’re also worried about sanitation and hygiene. It needs close watching – children are the first to suffer if drinking water is dirty, if they don’t get enough of the right food, or when diseases start to spread. It’s a vicious circle, especially for newborn children.

I meet one of our staff, Trung. He’s based in Hue, 100 km north of here.

“How are you? Family OK?” I ask.

“Yes we’re all OK – no one hurt but the house has taken some damage,” he replies.

I’m relieved, and happy to see him. He’s a doctor and I know we’ll need his skills and knowledge of the area.

A chat with Huy, a colleague back in Hanoi is not so upbeat. He says, “That second typhoon’s approaching Luzon in the Philippines – another strong one – fifty-fifty chance of it heading your way in a few days.”